Our refresh of the Watchlist rankings, giving our view on player picks for the next month or so, is now available in your right sidebar. This week’s update finds Chelsea returning to the radar, while the form of West Brom and Everton also see climbs for their key assets across the positions…
Goalkeepers
Michel Vorm holds his top rank, amidst upheaval in the Swansea back four following the injury to Neil Taylor and a three-match ban for Chico, which will see him miss two league encounters. The Swans keeper is being pushed all the way by West Brom’s Ben Foster, however, after a second clean sheet against Everton boosted his stock; with fixtures falling in his favour, he presents a very strong keeper option if you’re not already looking to Steve Clarke’s defenders.
Jussi Jaaskalainen is again the budget option to consider below these two, having sealed a second home clean sheet in the win over Fulham. Wojciech Szczeseny is a consideration after returning from injury – his fixtures are stiff but, with a newly disciplined back four in front of him, he looks a good option – his stock slightly tempered by concern that he may not reclaim his start from Vito Mannone.
Defenders
Leighton Baines climbs to the top of our rankings here, despite the 2-0 setback at the Hawthorns. The fixture list suggests that Everton will be in profit at both ends of the field in the next two months and Baines looks by far the strongest option if you’re spending big in defence. His ascent is helped by City and United’s current inability to claim clean sheets, reducing the value of other options in Baines’ bracket.
Swansea’s Angel Rangel is toppled, then, but holds in second spot with the continued promise of returns from a kind fixture list. Team-mate Ben Davies was a consideration to oust Rangel as the Swansea option here, given that the young left-back looks nailed-on, at least in the short-term. Davies is available for a budget price and will surely start at Villa next time out, although Michael Laudrup has stated he is searching for backup which could threaten Davies’ start. We’re reserving judgement on this, keeping the more expensive Rangel in our Watchlist rankings.
West Brom’s Gareth McAuley is our pick of the West Brom defenders – while we’ve previously favoured team-mate Liam Ridgewell for his greater assist potential, his left-back position is now under threat from new signing Goran Popov – that’s a concern. McAuley, in contrast, looks nailed on and has shown greater goal threat in the opening three matches.
Thomas Vermaelen is another heavy-hitting defender who has enjoyed a stock increase. Three clean sheets have provided handsome returns, although with Carl Jenkinson available as an option, interest in the Gunners skipper has been tempered. With Bacary Sagna nearing a return, however, Jenkinson’s start will soon come under pressure. That will either have us turn to Kieran Gibbs or, if you have the funds, the goalscoring threat of Vermaelen.
Guy Demel is the top budget option in the rankings; we’re still waiting confirmation on the extent of the injury sustained against Fulham but, for now, we’re monitoring this as a minor knock. If fit, Demel looks real value having seemingly cemented the right-back role for the Hammers.
Midfielders
Eden Hazard returns to action and, not surprisingly, claims top spot in our midfielder rankings. With Swansea’ goal threat Michu remaining in second spot, these two will surely find place in many a Fantasy squad in the next few weeks if they’ve yet to secure their spots. It’s very hard to look beyond either, given their respective form and fixtures.
Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla has emerged as a real rival for our affections, however and, despite a testing short-term fixture list, there’s clearly merits in recruiting early – prior to improved fixtures and, potentially, returns.
Everton’s kind forthcoming run is reflected in Steven Pienaar’s climb up our rankings. For my money, if you don’t have Baines or Nikica Jelavic in your squad, then Pienaar becomes essential cover of Everton’s strong form. We’ve opted for the South African over Maroane Fellaini with the suspicion that the Belgian will, eventually, be moved back to a midfield role following the recent impact of striker Kevin Miralles. There’s a slight injury doubt over Pienaar, so investment should, perhaps, be delayed until we know more on his calf problem next week.
James Morrison is another player to benefit from form and fixtures and he’s perhaps an unlikely name in our rankings, particularly when you consider that we have him above the likes of Kevin Nolan, Gareth Bale and Hatem Ben Arfa. While Morrison’s returns have been under the radar so far, we see him as the prime asset to consider over the Baggies’ kind run of opponents in the coming weeks. With just over 1% ownership, he could be a very efficient differential for those worried about forming a template squad.
Forwards
It’s going to take injury or a minor miracle for our top two to be displaced for the forseeable future. While Robin Van Persie and Carlos Tevez have swapped places in our table, they are surely set to remain one and two for a good few Gameweeks, given their current form.
Everton’s Nikaca Jelavic is now our third striker option of choice. Again, if you can’t cover Everton with Baines or Pienaar, Jelavic looks to be the route to explore. We’re targeting the next ten games as a very positive spell for the Croatian goalscorer.
Southamptons’ Rickie Lambert is now a clear front runner in the budget bracket, although both Swansea’s Danny Graham and Reading’s Pavel Pogrebnyak offer strong alternative options here.
Dimitar Berbatov makes an appearance in our thinking and certainly has the fixtures to flourish. The Bulgarian’s bandwagon could well pick up speed if he can prove his worth against West Brom in Gameweek 4. His engine is certainly running, with Fantasy managers deliberating whether to climb on board early.
Berbatov, along with West Brom’s Peter Odemwingie, are our differentials on show here. The Nigerian has yet to cement his role in Steve Clarke’s 4-3-3 formation but we’ve still opted for him over Shane Long – the Baggies frontline has plenty of competition and is far from secure, another factor which promotes Morrison in our thinking.
